Our most-clicked Scott Walker items

In the end, Gov. Scott Walker’s presidential campaign was short-lived -- he didn’t formally announce his bid until July 13, 2015, and dropped out on Sept. 21, 2015.

But reader interest in his campaign, which gained steam well before he formally announced, was intense.

Here’s a look at PolitiFact Wisconsin items on the Republican governor that received the most page-views since Jan. 1, 2015. That was around the time he was sworn in for a second term and when he began a sudden rise in the polls.

1. Solving the "mystery" of Scott Walker’s college years and entry into politics

This 2013 article, which cleared up rumors about whether Walker was asked to leave Marquette University (officials say he was not, and left in good standing), attracted a crop of new readers in early 2015 as Walker surged in the presidential preference polls.

2. Despite deliberate actions, Scott Walker calls change to university mission a "drafting error"

As he eyed a run for the White House, Walker was struggling back home with putting together a state budget, including changes he was proposing to the University of Wisconsin System.

When he claimed in February 2015 that fundamental changes made to the language describing the Wisconsin Idea in the system’s mission statement were the result of a "drafting error," we rated his statement Pants on Fire. Removing passages of the mission statement, which relates to the idea of public service, had been insisted upon by Walker’s administration.

3. Meme claims Scott Walker "was asked to leave Marquette University for cheating"

In August 2015, a reader asked us to check Facebook posts that claimed Walker "had a 2.3 GPA when he was asked to leave Marquette University for cheating." We rated the claim False.

Walker left school as a senior for a job with the American Red Cross, but has not released his transcripts, which has left some to question the move. There is no evidence, however, to prove the grade point average, "was asked to leave" or the cheating parts of the claim.

4. Scott Walker says he unsealed his records from college

While attending a Conservative Political Action Conference with other potential White House contenders in February 2015, Walker said "I unsealed my records" at Marquette. We rated his statement False.

He had taken only the very limited step of authorizing the school to confirm that he was in "good standing" during his time at Marquette and that he voluntarily withdrew. We still haven’t seen any actual records.

5. Scott Walker says he bought a sweater for $1 at Kohl’s

This statement earned a rating of True. Walker made the claim when his still-undeclared campaign visited New Hampshire in April 2015. On the stump, Walker used references to Kohl’s to underline his bargain-hunting nature.

We determined that through a combination of discounts and coupons from the Wisconsin-based retailer, Walker in fact could have obtained his sweater for a dollar.

More on Scott Walker

Fact checking Walker in the second GOP presidential debate, where he had hoped to reverse his sudden slump in the polls.

Fact checking Walker and unions, a target of reforms he pushed both at the state and national levels.

Walker's campaign suffered from perceived gaffes. Here are In Context articles on what he said about building a wall with Canada and about his position on birthright citizenship.